- as global competition is soaring to the highest in our
national history -

- the U.S. had a 46 percent dropout rate from college in
2006
giving it the second-highest dropout rate in the world behind only Mexico

The Grandfather Economic Reports is a series of picture reports of threats to the economic future
of families and their children, compared to prior generations. You are now at the brief
section on College Standards in the Education chapter. We hope you will find useful
information to help you and your loved ones.

COLLEGE STANDARDS DROP LIKE A ROCK
(I present the following tell-all charts, despite difficulty in locating more recent data)

DROP IN MANDATORY COURSES:

Fewer and fewer core courses
are mandated by colleges.

Note the accelerating drop - including an 81% plunge since 1964.

And, those courses dropped were deemed the toughest.

An obvious departure from mandatory standards, as was done to better prepare prior
generations.

This chart indicates that the relative quality of a 1993 college diploma is 81% less in
1993, than in 1963.

This correlates with the 72% decrease in the SAT/cost productivity index for public
secondary schools in that period - see Education Report for chart.

DROP IN REQUIRED SCIENCE:

Note the dramatic
departure from the past shown for science requirements for the 30 year period 1963-93.

AND - the International Test
Evaluation Report shows lower and lower performance of U.S. students in math &
science vs. those in foreign schools. The last series showed the U.S. at or next to the
bottom.

What does this say about the fact more kids go to college than
before, but face significantly lower achievement standards than ever before?

Is this the way to prepare for the future in a more competitive global
economy in a higher technological era.

THE DUMBING-DOWN OF ADMISSION STANDARDS FOR COLLEGES - NO SAT REQUIRED

According to the Edge Reports*: "Your favorite standardized test and ours, the
SAT, has undergone some major changes in the past two years. First it was the
restructuring of the format, including a new name -- the Scholastic Achievement Tests.
Then it was the recentering of scores to make the average on each section of the test
about 500."

"Maybe the ultimate change would be that you don't have to take the test as part
of the college admissions process at all. And according to a recent survey by FairTest,
the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, there are actually 236 colleges and
universities nationwide that require neither the SAT nor the ACT for admissions. A full
list of those schools is available from FairTest; you can call them at 617-
864-4810," which includes some of the former great schools in America. (* The Edge
Report used to be at > http://www.jayi.com/jayi/Fishnet/Edge/Nov_Dec/no_sat.html - but
that link now seems broken as of 2001).

ONE OF THE 2 PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES STILL REQUIRING HIGH STANDARDS TO
DROP SAT(newsgroup soc.college.admissions)

According to the following, there are now just 2 public universities with tough SAT
standards - and one of these is about to disappear -

"The University of California is one of the few public universities requiring not
just the SAT-I but also three SAT-II subject tests. (To my knowledge, the only other
public university that does this is the University of Virginia.)."Gary
Glen Price Department of Curriculum & Instruction University of Wisconsin-Madison

"If UC eliminates using SATs for admission, the importance of grades would
be magnified, but without any means for comparing school quality. High school students
would be more reluctant to attempt difficult courses and there would be more cheating and
other problems with use of grade-point-average. Without SATs, late-bloomers (students with
poor 9-10th year grades) would have more trouble gaining admission."

"You ask how campuses adjust to a change in student ability? Professors lower
expectations, simplify exams, assign easier textbooks, and otherwise accommodate the
"new type" of student (sometimes while longing for the 'good old days' of
well-prepared students). For example, textbooks have become simplified by publishers who
want widespread sales and use computer word-count and vocabulary programs to eliminate
"difficult" words and complex sentences that might stump some students.
Moreover, students struggling at a campus usually can find easy teachers, easy majors, and
tutoring, along with commercial class notes to help them stay off probation. At major
research campuses like UC Berkeley and UCLA, most professors orient themselves toward
research and graduate students; thus the goal in undergraduate lecture classes is to
design the class so most students can pass, don't complain, and keep the lecture course
from burdening the research professor." Steve Gordon, California State
University (LA)

Another input from the same newsgroup from college admission
professional: "1. Although the SAT has been dropped as a requirement at
some colleges (mainly those that accept almost every applicant anyway and those where
revenue volume goals exceed quality education goals), the SAT has gained significance at
others because of grade inflation (reducing the grade variance among applicants)
and because of the huge numbers of applicants to major universities (due to population,
job pressure, and multiple applications). 2. There are many studies but I cannot cite them
now. Most colleges concede that the SAT is very influential in their decisions. 3. At some
campuses, the majority of first-year students are in remedial math and/or English.
At Calif. public universities (including UC system), students are being forced to take
remedial classes off campus at junior colleges or high school extension classes. The
question of what is truly "college-level" and what is "remedial" is
always controversial."

Author note: while reducing standards may be justified by some as 'politically correct'
(it may increase the applicant pool - which benefits college revenues, while driving up
costs), it reduces the value of a diploma from a given institution, compared to the
past. SATs, which have served the nation so well in past generations, should be retained
as a main measure of admission for those institutions that want to be recognized as
'quality first.' If I were a parent assisting my child in selecting a college, my first
choice would be those that adhere to such standards - - otherwise, I might be
shortchanging my child's future. The bottom-line: does a parent go for high
measurable standards vs. low when advising a son and daughter? And, for an employer
reviewing job applicants, first consideration will be given to graduates of colleges with
the highest measurable standards.

COLLEGE GRADE INFLATION AND SOCIAL PROMOTION: "The recent mid-term removal
of a chemistry instructor at the University of Montana because he was "too
tough" illustrates the widespread grade inflation in the U.S. Grade inflation will
not diminish until the root cause of grade inflation and course work deflation is
eliminated." Society
for A Return to Academic Standards - Dr. D. Larry Crumbley

AND - A DROP IN REQUIRED DAYS IN CLASS

And, this chart shows colleges require fewer and fewer
classroom hours - - as if time with a professor does not matter - - just as more children
spend more time in day care by non-mothers than before - - as if mothers don't matter.

Again
the major drop from the past occurs for the past 3 decades - with another dramatic plunge.

These three charts may be summed up:

fewer days in class with fewer and fewer tough, challenging requirements than any time
in the 20th century.

Nation-wide, while this chart shows the number of class-room days dropping at
the college level, this is following the trend of public secondary schools, where the academic
year has been cut by 22% (37 days). In Florida, 42% of those going to college require remedial
training, yet they had previously 'passed' standard competency tests before leaving
high school. Source: Jeb Bush, Chairman Foundation for Florida's Future,
Imprimis, April 1997.

COLLEGE DROP-OUT RATE 46% - - HIGHEST IN THE
WORLD IN 2006

As mentioned above, a Sept. 2006 OECD report showed the
U.S. has a 46 percent dropout rate from college (defined as not completing a degree within
six years) giving it the second-highest dropout rate in the OECD behind only Mexico. Sept.
12, 2006 (Bloomberg) By Paul Baskenhttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=as_58xYSH1yw&refer=us

WONDERFUL - - RIGHT?

So, how well are today's college graduates prepared for even simple basic skills, which
in prior generations could be handled easily with less years of schooling? READ ON.

There is a continuing epidemic of grade inflation - - just like the escalation in fake
profits reported by corporations.

The upward swing in college grade inflation has dramatically increased since the
1960s, at Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Dartmouth, Temple and nearly every other
institution.

Reluctantly, it seems, some are starting to look at this matter. Stanford University
faculty senate reinstated the F in 1994 after nearly a quarter century absence. It had
been dropped in 1970 along with the D. Columbia University decided in December 2001 that,
with nearly half of undergraduates making the dean's list, the honor was losing its
meaning. At Harvard, President Lawrence Summers has asked the faculty to review their
grading standards after a 2001 report in The Boston Globe showed a record 91 percent of
Harvard seniors graduated with honors last year. An internal Harvard study found nearly
half the undergraduate grades were A or A-minus students.

There are reasons. "Everyone can agree that it's a serious problem, but it remains
very difficult to solve," says Dick Sabot, a professor emeritus of economics at
Williams College in Massachusetts who has studied college grading patterns. "Any
individual professor really has a quite powerful incentive to continue to inflate
grades." Sabot looked at grading at Williams and a dozen other schools, focusing on
grade disparity among academic departments. He found that students tend to pick courses in
which they can expect better grades. Since faculty generous with B's and A's attract more
students, their programs are rewarded with more staff and money. At a large university,
this can mean millions of dollars to a department, Sabot says. "The low grading
departments were, in effect, punishing themselves," Sabot says. "Or the
high-grading departments, whether consciously or not, were boosting their enrollments with
better grading."

New college students expect to get high grades, regardless of achievement, because they
are used to that treatment during high school - - as reported elsewhere in the Education Report. At the high school
level, students want good grades to get into their colleges of choice, and there are
indications that grades are rising there, too. More than 44 percent of freshmen entering
four-year colleges fall 2001 reported they had A averages in high school, according to
survey by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles. That same survey found
just under 18 percent averaged A's in 1968.

National Center for Educational Statistics - Sept. 1996:

A 1993 survey by the National Center for Education Statistics showed half of
5,000 college graduates- college graduates, mind you! - could not read or interpret
a simple bus schedule. Forty-four percent could not determine the contrast in a newspaper
article featuring two opposing views. Seven out of eight could not figure the cost of
carpeting a room (even with a calculator).

This year, the National Association of Scholars studied the 50 most selective
colleges and reported that the portion of the graduation requirement devoted to core
courses (literature, history, science, math, and foreign languages) had dropped
significantly since 1964.

Moreover, the courses that were dropped tended to be the toughest. Only one in
three of the 50 top colleges surveyed require courses in the natural sciences - physics,
biology, chemistry. The story is similar with other difficult subjects: four out of five
do not required mathematics, literature or history.

The latest figures show that almost all colleges and universities (98 percent) allow
students to take remedial courses at the same time as college-level courses;
some 23 percent give college-level credit for catch-up courses, thus providing the
appearance - not the reality - of core courses.

Even at prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, only 17 percent of the
freshman class passed the entry-level writing appraisal in 1995."

The following question was posed to internet newsgroups by M.W. Hodges - "Why are high schools graduating those requiring remedial college
courses?"

"Many universities claim that a very large portion of their freshman require
remedial courses in math and/or English, many admitted wrongly by virtue of high school
grade inflation and social promotion. While one can dump on colleges for lowering
their own admission standards to accept such prior to meeting proper standards, the
question for this newsgroup is why are high schools giving diplomas to such students.
" M.W.Hodges

A sobering response from a Naval Academy instructor follows: "I don't have
an answer -- at least, not one any better than Herman Rubin's (Purdue U.) typically
excellent post to your subject question -- but I just wanted to offer confirmation that
the phenomenon you describe is universal. From 1989 to 1993, I taught at the U.S.
Naval Academy. This institution has what is probably one of the top three or four student
bodies in the United States, as measured by SAT scores, HS grades, class rank, etc. I
found their basic math and science preparation to be astonishingly poor compared to
that of my contemporaries when I was a midshipman from 1980-1984. I also found that this
opinion was shared by everyone from the Dean down to every faculty member I ever heard
opine on the subject. I don't think the phenomenon is in any serious dispute. The problem
this causes is that an already too-high class load must either be increased (to make room
for the remedial work) or watered down (to incorporate the remedial work). The practical
effect of this? In ten or fifteen or twenty years, we're going to have a cadre of total
incompetents out there in the fleet managing our nation's defensive weapons systems,
including nuclear reactors and weapons." J.D. Baldwin,
alt.education,k12.chat.teacher,misc.education,school.teachers, November 05, 1997

- additional evidence of public high school failure to
assure their diplomas have meaning

Dramatic evidence of poor output quality is the fact that "of the 12
California state university colleges, 60% of students need remediation; a Florida study
shows at least 70% of recent high school graduates need remedial courses when they enter
community college - - in other words, they need to learn material they should have
mastered in public high school - but did not - - costing an extra $59 million per
year." Source: USA Today, pg. 14A, November 24, 1997. That averages out to two-thirds
of high school diplomas are bogus - even to attend less demanding state and community
colleges.

'This year, of those students graduating in the top third of their high school classes,
64% of freshmen entering the California university system failed entry-level math tests;
43% failed the verbal exam. Even at the elite University of California, where entry
competition is tremendous (meaning the very best grade averages from high schools, top of
class, etc.), 35% of entering freshmen needed remedial classes. Many argue that the
business of colleges should be providing college courses, not teaching students what they
should already know. In New York, where 87% of students entering the City
University require remedial courses, Mayor Guiliani has proposed removing remedial work
from CUNY curriculum. Massachusetts is one of four states now considering charging back
to high schools the costs of remedial courses for their graduates.' USA Today, May 12,
1998, page 13A.

Author note: maybe state officials are reading these Grandfather Economic Reports, and
its related internet news group postings, which have for the past year trumpeted charging
back remedial courses to high schools, as only economic pressure (in my view) will cause
school districts to shape up, restructure, privatize, or whatever. Perhaps high school
administrators should be fined for poor performance, as such lack of quality is
effectively 'stealing' from the young generation. See Remediation Report.

PRICES UP - QUALITY DOWN

LOWERING STANDARDS INCREASES COST AND DEBT LOAD ON STUDENTS, WHILE
REDUCING CHANCE FOR STUDENTS TO EARN AS THEY LEARN - - which generated so much pride with
good performance for prior generations

The Inflation Report includes:
"The cost of higher education rose four times
faster than family incomes 1982-92. In this period, costs rose 4% annually vs. 1% for
family incomes. (Families had to borrow to finance such education, whereas prior
generations did not). In 1992, 40% of the 14 million students in higher education at all
levels relied on federal guaranteed loans - - up from 30% in 1982." National
Science Board (S&E Indicators, 1993

This shows that colleges, just like secondary schools, produce less quality at higher
inflation-adjusted cost per student. The main Grandfather Education Report
includes a quote from Economic Professor Walter Williams: 'school quality is inversely
proportional to spending.' Although I have not seen Dr. Williams' data, the Grandfather
Education Report series confirms his findings - - and that statement is as true for
colleges, as for secondary schools.

College education professionals posting in related newsgroups report during their own
undergraduate days they worked part-time to earn their way - - gaining pride in
self-achievement while avoiding future debt via loans. But today's significantly
higher inflation-adjusted costs prevent the majority of students from doing so. We know college
costs have soared at much, much faster rates than the CPI,
responding to supply-demand. This author submits that the significant lowering of
standards, for graduation from high school and for entry to colleges, has created an unjustified
demand (more unqualified applicants) - - producing accelerating prices. Therefore, the
lowering of standards also excludes the ability of students to earn their way (a great
experience in learning and discipline and most respected by future employers), as was the
case for prior generations. - - forcing a quantum jump in debt loads of graduates
in general - - even on those who were fully qualified for admission without remedial
courses.

Can you imagine allowing high schools to export unqualified graduates, who then go
into debt also for their remedial work? One educator from Columbia Law School writes:
"I will say that I think only ~10% of the population is really 'college material,'
but if people want to pay for school, I won't stop them. Of course, I don't think that
state schools should be in the business of educating mediocre students." Other
professionals write that they recognize increased high school 'grade inflation' and
'social promotion' trends, but if colleges want to increase their own revenue they must
lower their standards to accept what the market offers - - and, claim that if they raised
standards then many colleges would 'close their doors.' Its a 'feeding frenzy' - - and
Johnny and his parents lose.

Perhaps local high schools should be charged back the cost of remedial education for
their graduates - - instead of Johnny going into debt because the school did not do
its job. Maybe that would sink in at the local school board.

Comments (1996- November 1997) from teachers, professors and students confirm that dumbing
down of quality standards, grade inflation and social promotion are not only the norm, but
escalating - and teachers are much less effective than years ago, and they are
embarrassed, scared, and frustrated. (see the Education Quality Comments by
Others Report.

According to the National Science Foundation, enrollment of science and engineering
graduate students declined 1993-98, but in 1999 showed a minor up-tick in foreign grad
students on temporary visas while the numbers for U.S. citizens declined again.
Foreign students on temporary visas are less likely to stay in the U.S. and contribute to
the economy. Source: Business Week, March 5, 2001, pg. 30.

So - - the technical 'brain drain' in the U.S. continues

Fewer Qualified Professors for America's Business Grad Schools

If you spend a lot of money to seek an MBA, because with a diploma you hope "to
make it big" - - think about the quality of the teaching you may get for all of that
money. Does unqualified professors sound nice?

In 1999 - - 1,104 PhDs were awarded in business fields. During the past 10 years these
numbers have fallen well below general population growth, despite more people attending
college. As a result, there is an escalating shortage of qualified professors to teach
business graduate students. How do top business schools make up for the deficit? Read this
> > Concedes Richard Schmalensee, dean of MIT's Sloan School of Management: "We
and others end up hiring people who don't know a lot about business." At MIT
these new faculty hires get light course loads in their first 4 years with time to learn
about business. Source: Business Week, 3/5/01, pg. 106.

COMMENTS

This report on college standards correlates with the main Education Report showing a 35
year 71% decline in the quality/cost productivity of public schools. It also points
out the validity of the concern from data shown in the International Education Report,
which shows poor performance of US students at all levels vs. many foreign nations - -
especially in courses that require standards like math and science. These charts lend
further credence to the statement included in the Education Report by Dr. Milton Friedman:
that the quality of US schools is less than it was 3 decades ago - - and to
Professor Walter Williams' statement: "there is an inverse relationship between
spending and quality output."

Few could disagree with the statement that today's college graduates may be less
educated to meet their future challenges than were prior generations prepared to meet
theirs - - that their ability earn while they learn has been replaced by tremendous
debt loads, even for remedial courses.

It is interesting that the period of decline in the above charts nearly coincides with
the cessation of real median family income growth and rates of saving - - as shown in the Family Income Report. Less education
quality cannot equate to improved living standards. The same report shows that government
employees, including the education system, have seen their total compensation increase at
faster rates than the rest of the nation, while quality and standards fall in education -
- and our president asks for volunteers to teach kids how to read.

Further, many reports show college costs have risen at much faster rates than general
inflation - - yet, there is no justification if such higher cost services produce less
quality output with reduced standards of achievement and classroom hours - - while also
producing consumer debt.

And, our nation faces the greatest competitive global economic challenge in the
nation's history - as reported in the International Trade Report.

There is zero evidence of any 'remedy' in process. To the contrary, there is
much evidence of attempts to 'cover-up' education quality deficiencies in secondary
education by revising SAT standards, and replacing them with 'feel-good' NAEP tests which
are only given to a small sample - - as well as reducing clear measurement standards and
admission criteria. This is equivalent to 'solving' the social security and deficit
problem by simply revising the way the U.S. has measured cost of living for decades, as
shown in the Grandfather Inflation
Report.

The message: instead of facing up to real problems with firm corrective action, it is
easier to simply allow those responsible for such failures to simply reduce requirements
and change the way we measure- - - and call it a day.

Who cares what this means to families and their children
concerning their futures - and to our nation's economic and security future.

Since it is apparent primary & secondary schools are basically a government
monopoly (as governments control all resources - instead of the customers: the parents),
and much of higher education is funded by government guaranteed loans, grants and
subsidies (instead of the customer- the student & parents), the following action is
indicated as a possible remedy:

Remove federal & state governments from monopoly control of, including union power over, the education
revenue stream - - and allow the customers
(parents & students) full freedom to choose with full control of said resources -
- to cause competition to occur for said funds between all schools. And, may the ones with
the best quality and highest standards and the most efficient delivery system win. Federal
& state government's only role should be to establish recommended (not mandated)
standards of achievement and tests, and report results.

Social Promotion & grade inflation practices must stop, and strict
local-established teaching testing and class testing standards must be established.

Disallow all guaranteed student loans, and research grants, to any university or
college that accepts students as a 'freshman' requiring remedial education, and does not
use the SAT as the prime measure for acceptance - - at a consistent or increasing score
requirement. Proven measurable performance achieved should again become the norm, as for
prior generations. If a college wishes to also be in the remedial education business, not
only must such be separate from the normal freshman class, but its students may not
receive government-guaranteed loans - - all costs to come from students, parents or their
local high school districts - - and entry of remedial graduates to the freshman class
requires prior SAT performance.

Disallow student loan guarantees (by taxpayers) to students not meeting a targeted
SAT score requirement - - regardless of financial need. If they do not qualify, they
must seek their own remedial studies - - and retake the SAT. For financially disadvantaged
students, their remedial course work should be paid for by the high school budget from
which they 'graduated.'

Place financial sanctions of some type on all high schools who graduate students
requiring remedial education at the next level within 3 years of graduation. And,
establish a national database that reports trends of the percent students from each state
(and each school district) that require remedial work - and, publish the results for
viewing by parents and taxpayers. There must be a price-consequence for poor
performance of high schools.

Finally, colleges professionals should energetically lobby for the establishment
of K-12 standards in the lower schools, by promoting and supporting a Governors
Association appointing a board of educators from prominent universities to establish and
maintain the test standards. All the governors should be permitted to submit nominees and
then board members would be selected by majority vote of the Governors. ( If the Federal
Government designs performance tests they indirectly control the curriculum because the
schools will teach to the tests. I do believe we need some means for schools and parents
to measure their students performance against some tough national standards. The
important, in fact critical, issue is who and how these standards are established
maintained. It is at the Governors level that vouchers and charter schools are being
promoted. I don't believe the NEA has a lock on governors and the top universities. If
candidates are restricted to professors from top universities I believe their
professionalism will prevail over any NEA attempts to warp the system to their agenda.
They also are motivated to assure that students delivered to their schools have high
academic achievement so they do not need to spend their time teaching the boring basics).